Seventh: collecting the fayʾ (revenues acquired without battle) and alms in accordance with what the Sacred Law has made obligatory through explicit textual evidence and juristic reasoning, without oppression or harshness.
Eighth: determining the stipends and whatever is due from the public treasury, without extravagance or shortcoming, and disbursing them at the proper time, neither prematurely nor belatedly.
Ninth: appointing trustworthy people and entrusting sincere advisers with whatever duties he delegates to them and whatever funds he places in their charge, without undue haste or delay.
Tenth: personally overseeing the affairs and reviewing the circumstances, so that he may attend to the administration of the Muslim community and the protection of the faith. He must not rely on delegation merely because he is occupied with pleasure or worship, for even a trustworthy person may betray, and even a sincere adviser may deceive. Allah Most High said: “O David, We have made you a successor upon the earth, so judge between the people in truth and do not follow desire.” Thus, He did not limit him to delegation without personal oversight. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Each of you is a shepherd, and each of you is responsible for his flock.”
When the imam fulfills the rights of the Muslim community, they owe him obedience and support, unless something arises from him that removes him from the imamate. The things that remove him from the imamate are two: a compromising flaw in his uprightness, and a deficiency of such a kind as to affect the validity of the imamate. We interpret this as meaning that there may be an excuse preventing uprightness from being taken into consideration at the time of the investiture, just as an excuse was given effect in the case of the superior candidate.
A Chapter on the Imam’s Appointments
The appointments made by the imam for those acting as his deputies fall into four categories. The first is an appointment whose authority is general and whose sphere encompasses general affairs. These are the ministers, since they are deputized to oversee all matters without restriction.
The second is an appointment whose authority is general but whose sphere concerns particular affairs. These are the governors of regions and towns, because their authority over the matters assigned to them encompasses all affairs within those spheres.
The third is an appointment whose authority is particular but whose sphere encompasses general affairs. These include the chief judge, the commander of the armies, the guardian of the frontiers, the collector of the kharaj (land tax), and the collector of alms, because each of them is restricted to a particular area of oversight while exercising it across all relevant affairs.
The fourth is an appointment whose authority is particular and whose sphere concerns particular affairs. These include the judge of a town or region, its collector of the kharaj, its collector of alms, its frontier guardian, and the commander of its troops, because each has a limited scope of oversight and a defined area of responsibility. Each of these officials has conditions by which his appointment is constituted and his authority is rendered valid; we shall mention them in their appropriate places.